


Risk and Reward

by artist_artists



Category: Glee
Genre: F/M, Prom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-29
Updated: 2013-09-29
Packaged: 2017-12-28 00:04:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/985231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/artist_artists/pseuds/artist_artists
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>At prom, Ryder and Unique talk for the first time since the catfish reveal.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Risk and Reward

At prom, Unique looks really pretty.

It’s a thought Ryder’s been having a lot lately. She looked pretty at Regionals, and at Blaine’s huge proposal event at Dalton, and even in glee the other day, when she wasn’t dressed to perform. Before the catfish reveal, Ryder had never noticed how pretty she was. It’s not that he used to think she _wasn’t_ pretty - he just never thought about it at all. She’d never even been on his radar.

Now, Unique is pretty much the only person on Ryder’s radar. It’s weird, because they haven’t talked at all lately, even though he stayed in glee club. Ryder’s not sure if she’s mad at him or just respecting his wishes by leaving him alone, but it sucks. He and Unique weren’t the best of friends before this all happened, but they were friendly enough, always greeting each other at glee and sharing a glance of silent judgment whenever Mr. Schuester said something particularly ridiculous. Ryder misses that bond with Unique. He misses talking to Katie, too, and he’s started to grasp the fact that it’s all one big loss.

And Unique looks really pretty.

On one of their performance breaks, she’s sitting alone at the table the glee club adopted as their own when Ryder returns with the sodas he procured for himself and Jake. Marley and Jake are gone now, out slow dancing to the song playing over the PA. Besides Blaine, they’re the only ones at prom without dates, but Ryder hadn’t really noticed until now.

“I guess Jake wasn’t that thirsty,” he remarks as he sits down across from her.

Ryder expects a bit of a reaction from Unique, something to indicate that she cares that he’s speaking to her again, but all he gets is a shrug. Her eyes remain glued to the dance floor as she replies. “Marley loves this song.”

“Oh.” Ryder’s quiet for a moment. “You want a Coke?”

Unique turns and meets his eyes for a second before turning back to the dance floor. “No thank you.”

Ryder follows her gaze. Kitty’s sitting in Artie’s lap, Marley and Jake are swaying together with their eyes locked on one another, Sam’s making a weird face and Tina’s fondly rolling her eyes. Everyone seems to be having a great time, and Ryder can’t help the flash of jealousy or the sadness that’s twisting up his insides.

“Where’s Blaine?” he asks, another attempt to get Unique talking.

“Over there,” she replies, indicating the other side of the gym. “He’s dancing with some girl from his superhero club.” She pauses, then looks at Ryder again. “He asked me to dance, first.”

“You didn’t want to?”

She scoffs. “I don’t want pity dances.”

“It probably wasn’t pity,” Ryder says, though he thinks that’s probably exactly what it was. “He doesn’t have a date, so maybe he’s just lonely.”

Unique rolls her eyes. “I’m sure Blaine’s fine.”

_I’m not_ , Ryder wants to say. Instead, he says, “You look really pretty. Just… in case no one’s told you that yet.”

Her eyes are suspicious when they meet his again, but Ryder thinks he sees a little hope in there, too. “Marley told me. And Blaine, actually,” she says.

“Well, they’re right.” Ryder breaks eye contact, looking down at the table as he feels his cheeks heating up. He hopes it’s different, coming from him. Blaine and Marley are sweet and well-intentioned, but they’re not interested in girls. “Do you want to dance?” he asks as the slow song wraps up. He knows there’s a good chance the next song will be more upbeat, with less pressure on being close.

She shoots him a glare. “Boy, did you not hear what I just said about pity dances?”

“It’s not pity,” Ryder insists, unable to keep himself from grinning at her perfectly arched eyebrow. “I said _pretty_ , not pity. You must have misheard me.”

She groans. “God, you’re a dork.”

“I’m a good dancer, though.”

“You’re not the worst dancer I’ve seen,” Unique allows.

The new song that’s playing is upbeat, as Ryder anticipated, and he’s encouraged by the fondness in Unique’s voice. They might still be a little mad at each other, a little distrustful, but it doesn’t change what they had before. Things don’t have to stay this way forever. Maybe this dance will be the start of something big. Ryder doesn’t want to miss that chance.

“Is that a yes?” he asks. Either answer will be scary for different reasons, and he’s holding his breath as Unique searches his eyes. He’s not sure what she’s looking for - pity, maybe, disgust, or deception, but whatever it is, she doesn’t find it.

“Okay, we can dance,” she says after a moment, holding out her hand and waiting for him to come over and take it. “But if you step on my foot…”

Ryder takes a deep breath before getting up from the table. “I am going to try very, very hard not to do that.”


End file.
